Automatic sign exhibitor



Sept. 7, 1926.

15 658 A. B. Roel-:Rs 98 AUTOMATIC SIGN EXHIBITOR Filed Feb. 23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I hlt lh, "fm" A Y l f sept. 7,1926. 1,598,658

A. B. ROGERS AUTOMATIC SIGN EXHIBITOR Patented Sept. 7, 19286.

ARTHU'RB. Roenlasgor GREELEY, cononiino;`

Au'rciv/Lerici` sien EXHIBITRQ A This invention `relates. to" improvements inHd-evices,v for displaying advertisements; of the type sometimes referred to as echange# ablesig'n exhibitors. y y f j In" advertising for the purpose olf' increas-4 ing" salesfor "improving' business,A it 'essentiall thatl the advertisements sshall so' displayed that 'theyV will attractl ythe',attention of the public for an'adve'rtisement not noticed and 'read' it will be'otine value.`

It isn/ell recognized' by ladyertise'rs that ordinary small,advertisements in papiers andI magazines liavelos't tlieiijvalue; 'lfor'tlie'` generalipublie are far too buis/y to read'any thing but what 4is essential" for the pur?` pose oftheir calling` and flier' general initier-v Ination. `In'order to make an 4adv'ertisement eii'ectiva: it is thereforenecessary t'o put it before the public" in such a manner that fit vvill' attract tlieirattention to the extent that they will talle notice" of it andthen the.' advertisement must be so attractive''fand' concise that it Will arousethe'iiit-ereetofthe observer tothe extent-)that he wvill read tandl mile' a mental Viiiemorandum of it.' ,l y

It has been" found that nothing will attiiafct attention as much as mot-ion 'and lights'. heii'ity is' desired te attract attention to an?y advertisement onor the"otl1`er o'r"bethl of' these expedients are"resorted to". e

In the device Whilifor'ms the subject in'at'.- V ter' of thisinveiitienrapplicant has taken ad-Y the various advertiseiiifents exhibited there?` tion'and arrangement of parts that'will new be` described in detail, reference for this' purpose being? 'ha/clfftofthe'` accom'panyinigl drawings' on which'y the Ypreferred emjbodi#v i `LV.1; .v n Y 1: j ment of ,my invention has been shown and iii' which :V

Fig". 1 'is attirent-elevation of "theimproved" sign exhibitor;

,Fig 2 is' a sectionA taken on' line 242; Fig.` 1,;

Eigqe is a' Section' taker n 'une' 2;;3';

y Figi 5 isa section taken on line 5in-5",

, x 4 Fig.' 6 is a' view looking inthe direction of the'arrow"Ginl Figli; y l 1 y Fig'. 7 is View` ysimilar :tofftliat shown in Fgp but showing" an intermittent, mecha?` nis'm4 for operating the sign carrying belt; array I e Fig.` 8 is a diagram ofthe Wiring..y l I Inthe device forming thesubject' matter of this invention' numeral 1 represeiit's1 af board or plate tliatiswintendd todoesecuredA to tlietront f'aceot vvall 2 byfyineans4 of bolts`V 3 or othe suitable attachingdevices., Secured t the tace' oi' the'board" 1' is a` boxA or casing having" metal sides'txa'ndl 5l and af4 transverse-,top Wall '6. A flatsheet 7kof metal, vvjood or 'other'suita'ble material is.

secured to the frotinwardly bent edges of" thefmenibers t, 5 and bv screyv's`8. Hinges 9 have parts secured to theside t andy corresponding pa'rts secured to, the .board` 1 so that the casing' may be sv'vunt; about the hinge pins from the' position, shown `fully lines o Then the 'casing is in normal ory closed posi" tion' (shoivnf'by ull li'1les` iii Fig'. 5)) it may" be' locked in s'uchl position by means 'of/a liasplO anda padlock 11er' by' some equiva-v V lent locking' means.V The lovverend of the flf casing' is closedbylai` base member 12. The plate 7` hasftuopeniugs of considerable' size, one of Ywhich 1s:c1rcularand lhasbeen indicated by numeral 13 and n''vvhich a1 clockml located.V n, Tlife,otherE opening 15 is' rectangular'. l Surrbunding1PA the"opening'l 15` on the reareflt-heplate 7 is a .frame consisting of sidesfl'andfl'? `la t'opmekmbe'rfliS and a base member*19.` A ro'llerQOfhas its ends rotatably mounted` inft'he'sides 16 and 17V and liasoneI end provided vvizth a' journal, 21 that' extends ,entirely through the sideV 16l and to Which is secured a Wor`1nhgearg22 (Fig. 6) or an ordinary 'near' Wheel 231 (Fig.` 7), astliecasemaybe'. Securedto the upper transverse vmember* 18 is a moto-r24` to one endl of Whose shaft a bevel' ,QQ-ear25 is' con'-y nectedv; this gearqcooperates with Va similar gear 26 onv the upper cnil of a shaft'27. 'u The. shaft 27 is journaled in Va bearing'* 28 andl Carries securedtonits lower enda worm*29v thatl cooperates with" the' 4Woringear122 for the purposeoffIotatineit in the direction of the arrow 6).` vVherefaniiitermittent or step by step rotaticn of the roller 2O is the dottedlline position shown Fig. `5. i

ibo

ywill be visible.

desired, the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 7 or some equivalent means may be used. In Fig. 7 the worm 29has been shown in engagement with a worm wheel BO'that carries a crank pin 3l to which one end of the connecting rod 32 is connected. A largegear 33 meshes with the pinion 28 and is rotatable about the pivot 34. Au arm 35 has one end connected with the pivot 34 and carries a pawl 36 that is adapted to'engage the ratchet teeth 37. The lower end of the connecting rod 32 is pivotallv attached Sto the arm 35. The ratchet wheel 38 is fastened to the gear 33 so that the two will rotate together. lVhen the motor rotates the arm 35 will be caused to oscillate and will rotate the gears 33 and 23 when moving upwardly, on the downward movement of the Varm 35, however, these gears will stand still. Apsecond roller 39 is provided at each end with a trunnion 40, each of which is rotatably connected with a slidable bearing black 4l, one of which is mounted in a recess 42 in each of the side members i6 and "17.V A spring 43 is located in the` recess 42 between the upper end of therrecess and the vupper end of the block 4l and tends rto move the roller 39 awayfrom the roller 20. Enclosing the rollers 20 and 39 is an endless belt 44 of some suitable fabric such as paper or cloth whose outer surface is marked olf into rectangles such as shown in Fig. 4"and desig= nated by numeral 45. These rectangles may be of various sizes and on the ,surface of each an advertisement or sign of some lrind may be painted. If the4 opening l5 were entirely uncovered, the wholey of the front surface of the belt 44 would be exposed but since this would proclive devicehaving an unattractive appearance. vthis `opening is closed by asheet` 46 of opaque material which is provided with a number" of openings which have been designated as o, w, a?, y and e through which the face of the belt The other parts of the eX- posed surface of the member 46 is divided into rectangular spaces on which advertisements or signs are painted. lhen the motor 24 operates the belt 44 moved upwardly and the signs or advertisements on its surface will pass before the openings in the member 4G so that they maybe read. If the mechanism shown in Fig. 7 is employed the belt 44 will move intermittently andthe motion may be sorelatf'vd to the size of the rectangular spaces thatva new advertisement will be brought into view at each rotation of the wheel 30. y

For the purpose of 'illumination an incandescent lamp 47 is locatedat the top of the opening 15l and other and smaller lamps 48 are located about the opening and are connected in series with each other and Awith a thermally operated malre and break Vdevice 49 so that they willtlash.` rlhe motor, theV lamp 47 and the lamps 48 each derive their power from the supply circuit 50 and are controlled respectively by switches SM, SL and'S. A thermometer 51 may be secured to the front surface of the device in the manner shown in Fig. l. The wires, switches and all of the mechanism all enclosed in the casing and are made accessible only by unlocking the hasp and rotating the case about the hinge pins tothe dotted line position yshown in Fig. 5.

being provided on the outer surface with signs, a frame surrounding the opening in the front side, a roller rotatably secured to the frame at a pointk above the upper edge of said opening, a similar roller rotatably secured at its ends to members slidably connected with the frame at a point near the lower end thereof, means comprising springs for producing a force tending to move the slidable end members downwardly, an endless belt encircling said rollers and held under tension by said spring means, the outer surface of the belt being provided with rows i of longitudinally extending spaces adapted to have signs 'painted thereon, and means comprising an electrical motor for moving the belt so as to bring dierent port-ionsthereof into register withjthe openings in' the opaque member.

` 2. A changeable sign exhibitor comprising, in combination, a casing having a front side provided with an opening, Va thin member of opaque material extending across said opening, said opaque member having a plurality of openings arranged in separatev vertical rows, the spaces between ysaid openings being providedon the outer surface with signs, aframe surrounding the opening in the front side, a roller rotatably secured t0 the frame at a point above the upper edge of said opening, a similarV roller rotatably secured at itsends to'members slidably connected with the frame at a point near the lower end thereof, means comprising springs Vfor producing a force' tending to` move the slidable end members downwardly, an endless belt encircling said rollers and held under tension by said spring means, theY outer surface of the belt being provided with rows of longitudinally extending spaces adapted to have signs painted thereon, and vmeans comprising an electrical 4motor formoving the opaquemember, said means comprising a motion transmitting device including a worm gear.

3. A changeable sign exhibitor comprising, in combination, a casing having a front side provided with an opening, a thin meinber of opaque material extending across said opening, said opaque member having a plurality of openings arranged in separate ver tical rows, the spaces between said openings being provid-ed on the outer surface with signs, a frame surrounding the opening in the front side, a roller rotatably secured to the frame at a point above the upper edge of said opening, a similar roller rotatably secured at its ends to members slidably connected with the frame at a point near the lower end thereof, means comprising springs for producing a force tending to move the slidable end members downwardly, an end less belt encircling said rollers and held under tension by said spring means, the outer surface of the belt being provided with rows of longitudinally extending spaces adapted to have signs painted thereon, and means comprising an electrical motor for imparting to said belt an intermittent motion so as to move the belt by Vequal step into position in which the signs on the belt register with the openings in the opaque member.

4. A changeable sign exhibitor comprising, in combination, a casing having a front side provided with an opening, a thin meinber of opaque material extending across said opening, said opaque member having a plurality of openings arranged in separate vertical rows, the spaces between said openings being provided on the outer surface with signs, a frame surrounding the opening in the front side, a roller rotatably secured to the frame at a point above the upper end of said opening, a similar roller rotatably secured at its ends to members slidably connected with the frame at a point near the lower end thereof, means comprising springs for producing a force tending to move the slidable end members downwardly, an end* lessV belt encircling said rollers and held under tension by said spring means, the outer surface of the belt being provided with rows of longitudinally extending spaces adapted' to have signs painted thereon, means comprising an electrical motor for moving the belt so as to bring different portions thereof into register with the openings in the opaque member and means for illuminating the face of the device.

5. A changeable sign exhibitor comprising, in combination, a casing having a front ber of opaque material extending across said opening, said opaque member having a plurality of openings arranged in separate ver* tical rows, `the spaces between said openings being provided on the outer surface with signs, a. frame surrounding the opening'in the front side,a roller rotatably secured to the frame at a point above the upper end of said opening, a similar roller rotatably secured at its ends to members slidably connected with the frame at a point near the lower end thereof, means comprising springs for producing a force tending to move the slidable end members downwardly, an endless belt encircling said rollers and held under tension by said spring means, the outer surface of the belt being provided with rows of -longitudinally extending spaces adapted to haveL signs painted thereon, means comprising an electrical motor for moving vthe belt so as to bring different portions thereof side provided with an opening, a thin meminto register with the openings'in the opaque Y member and means for illuminating the face of the device, said means comprising an in terrupted light.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ARTHUR B. ROGERS. 

